FEMA Trump Sign Scandal is Crazy, Workplace Immigration Raids ARE Coming After Tom Homan Pick & More
PDS Published 11/11/2024
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Is FEMA discriminating against Trump supporters??
Right, and that question started when the Daily Wire reported that FEMA workers were canvassing for residents who would qualify for federal aid after Hurricane Milton in Lake Placid, Florida.
Which is in a notably red county that backed Trump by 70% in the election.z []
And reportedly, the FEMA supervisor Marni’i Washington told workers both verbally and through a group chat to avoid houses advertising for Trump. []
So if there was a Trump sign or a Trump flag, they were supposed to skip it.
With her reportedly saying in the group chat that it would be, quote, “best practice” but didn’t offer any explanation as to why.
And the Daily Wire, citing government employees, says that there were at least 20 houses skipped because of this - meaning they weren’t given an opportunity to qualify for assistance. []
When the Daily Wire reached out to Washington’s supervisor, they were reportedly told that the situation was being handled and proper action was being taken. []
With a FEMA spokesperson saying in a statement after the Daily Wire’s publication,
“We are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme actions to correct this situation and have ensured that the matter was addressed at all levels. Helping people is what we do best and our workforce across the agency will continue to serve survivors for as long as it takes.” []
And over the weekend, FEMA announced that Washington has been fired and that the situation has been referred to the Office of Special Counsel for an investigation. []
With the FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell calling Washington’s actions “reprehensible” and adding,
“I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again.” []
As you can imagine, this has become a very big deal.
With Florida Governor Ron DeSantis saying on X that the Division of Emergency Management has launched an investigation into, quote, “the federal government’s targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump.”
And Tennessee’s Governor Bill Lee has also spoken out - saying that he will be working with the state’s Attorney General to determine whether the same thing happened in Tennessee, adding,
“FEMA exists to serve all Americans, and these actions have eroded the people’s trust by failing to deliver desperately needed relief to all survivors.”
And it doesn’t stop there - Alabama senator Katie Britt also chimed in, sending a letter to both Criswell and the Secretary of Homeland Security.
In which, she demanded answers as to how this happened in the first place, whether anyone else was complicit, and assurance that it won’t happen again. []
Adding,
“Any disaster funding provided by Congress must be made available to all Americans who are victims of presidentially declared disasters, and cannot be conditioned or delayed based on their political views.” []
So we’ll have to wait and see what the fallout will be from here.
In the meantime, let me know your thoughts about this in those comments down below.
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Mattel Apologizes For Including Porn Site Link on Wicked Doll Boxes
Mattel may have accidentally traumatized a bunch of kids who were just trying to recreate “Defying Gravity” numbers with their dolls.
Right, because as you might know, the “Wicked” movie is coming out this month, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. (uh-ree-vo)
It is highly anticipated, it is supposed to be one of the big box office events of the year, so there is a ton of merch getting released alongside it, including some Barbie dolls of the main characters.
The boxes for the dolls have promotional materials for the film and on the back, it directs people to go to Wicked dot com.
Which sounds totally fine and normal, like something a box for a toy from the Wicked movie might say, but the thing is, the film’s website is actually WickedMovie.com.
And Wicked dot com, well, that is a porn website.
So this morning, Mattel had to issue a big old apology, saying:
“Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S…We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information.”
And according to the Hollywood Reporter, as of yesterday afternoon, the dolls were no longer available for sale at Target, and the line is in the process of being pulled from Walmart, Macy’s, Kohls, Best Buy, DSW, and Amazon.[]
And there are some clear losers in this story, right, number one being Mattel, and then number two being the parents who saw porn on their kids' iPad and had to have a very delicate conversation they never anticipated having.
But there are also some winners.
First being Wicked dot com itself.
According to Variety, the site has seen a 12-year traffic high thanks to that misprint.
And the second winner is doll collectors, because the collector community loves nothing more than a really wacky misprint.
And on eBay, dolls with the URL misprint are listed for as high as $250.[]
So yeah, just a goofy little story to cleanse your mind of the doomscrolling chaos that has been inescapable for the past week.
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Dutch police detain dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters after violent clashes with Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam
And then, shifting gears, we’ve gotta unpack this wild violence we’ve been seeing in the Netherlands.
Right, last week, an Israeli soccer team came to play a Dutch team in Amsterdam.
And afterwards, fans of the Israeli team were targeted in shocking attacks widely condemned as being antisemitic
With some being hospitalized, dozens being arrested, and days later, even more being detained for participating in pro-Palestine protests that were banned in response to the initial violence.
But also, you have many criticizing media coverage of the events, arguing mainstream outlets failed to adequately report on the provocative and even violent behavior of the Israeli team fans.
And in fact, some media reportedly even revised their coverage to remove references to anti-Arab behavior after being criticized for it.
And so with that, let’s talk about exactly what we know.
Right, one thing that’s clear is that there was conflict almost from the moment Israeli fans touched down in Amsterdam last week.
On Wednesday, for example, police say some fans pulled a Palestinian flag from a building and burned it in a city square. (BROLL: 1:11-1:12 ).
Other flags were reportedly targeted as well, with fans also chanting things like “Death to the Arabs.”
Also, a Muslim taxi driver’s car was attacked with him still inside.
With a dashcam video verified by The Times showing a man hitting the car with a long object.
And with the local police chief also saying a cab had been vandalized that night.
After that attack, police said, a call went out for taxi drivers to mobilize, and cars began to gather outside Amsterdam’s Holland Casino.
Where, inside, hundreds of the Israeli team fans waited for the local police to bring them back to their hotels.
The next day, the day of the match, the mayor ordered a planned protest be moved away from the stadium for safety reasons.
With city officials also deploying an extra 800 police officers to the streets.
And with that, ahead of the game, large crowds of supporters of the Israeli team could be seen on video chanting anti-Arab slogans as they headed to the stadium, escorted by police.
For example, in one video, they’re saying: “Let the IDF win, and fuck the Arabs,”
With that clip also showing police pushing several pro-Palestinian protesters away from an Israeli team fan.
And then, after the match ended, the exact sequence of events remains somewhat unclear.
But without a doubt, many of the Israeli team’s fans came under attack.
With at least 12 videos verified by The New York Times showing groups of men questioning, chasing or beating people who were apparently targeted as fans of the Israeli team.
Notably, with other evidence also suggesting the attackers specifically targeted both Israelis and Jewish people.
With some victims reported being stopped and asked if they were Israeli or Jewish.
And other videos showing people being asked to show their passports.
On the flip side, a group of men, including several wearing the colors of the Israeli team, also chased and beat a man, according to other videos verified by The Times.
With there also being reports of fans throwing rocks at a house displaying a Palestinian flag, and there also potentially being other cases of the Israeli team fans chasing people down.
And ultimately, by Friday morning, five people were hospitalized, and dozens more had been injured, some with broken legs.
Also, Israeli officials organized flights to bring hundreds of fans home.
After arriving, some of them repeated chants against Arabs and Gazans.
By Saturday, we learned that 62 people had been arrested, with 4 people still being held.
With authorities saying they expected more arrests as investigations continue.
Also, on Saturday, officials temporarily banned public protests and empowered police to search people on the street.
But yesterday, despite that, we saw hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathering in a main square.
With police quickly breaking it up and dozens being detained.
And now, a lot of people are just wondering what’s next.
Right, the Israeli national soccer team?
They're gonna be playing in Paris on the 14th, with the police chief there already pledging that 4,000 officers would be deployed in the stadium and across the city.
With they’re of course being concerned that we could see more violence.
And then, not forgetting that a lot of this goes back to what’s happening back in Israel, Gaza, and elsewhere in the region.
I mean, just this weekend, more than 80 people have reportedly been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, northern Gaza and Syria.
As usual, this number includes children and other noncombatants, with actually a new UN report finding that 70 percent of the more than 40,000 people killed in Gaza since October 7th, 2023 are women and children.
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Thousands of acres in the northeast are currently on fire and the fire service is struggling to keep up. (Broll)
And this has been the case for weeks now.
We’re talking countless homes threatened and evacuated, road closures, air quality warnings, and at least one death.
With the worst of it happening in New Jersey - where the Forest Fire Service has responded to 537 wildfires since early October.
Which, just to give you some scale, is 500 more than during the same period last year. []
And other states in the area like New York and Connecticut have also been battling wildfires.
So fire services have been working around the clock on containment.
In fact, as of last night, firefighters reportedly have contained only about 10% of the latest wildfire - which has burned 3,000 acres across New Jersey and New York. []
With Bill Donnelly, chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, saying in a press conference yesterday,
“We’ve been running our folks ragged.” []
And “ragged” might be putting it lightly cause you had one 18-year-old New York State Parks employee dying after helping battle a fire in Sterling Forest, this because he was struck by a falling tree. []
As for what's driving this surge in fires?
Officials say it's thanks to an unusually warm, windy, and dry season that the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions have had this year. []
In fact, the majority of New Jersey is in a severe drought or worse and New York City has just gotten through its driest month in history.
It’s also under its first drought watch in more than 20 years. []
And because everything is so dry, officials are warning that a single spark could have disastrous consequences.
With Shawn Judy, the assistant forest fire warden for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service pleading for people not to toss cigarettes or “any other smoking or burning material” onto the ground. []
Though that hasn’t gotten through to some people - like in central New Jersey, where a man was just arrested for using an illegal type of incendiary ammunition at a firing range, setting off a fire that eventually covered over 350 acres.
And even though there was some rain last night, it wasn’t enough to solve the problem. []
With meteorologists saying that there just wasn’t enough of it to truly soak the ground or change the drought conditions - though one adding,
“That type of rain is not really going to make a huge difference, but given that we haven’t had rain at all, any little bit will help.” []
And this problem likely isn’t limited to this year - with a recent study finding that the frequency and intensity of extreme wildfires have more than doubled in the last 20 years thanks to a hotter, drier climate.
With New York City’s commissioner of emergency management adding,
“Extreme weather has become the new normal. When people think about climate change, they think about rising sea levels or catastrophic amounts of rain, but it manifests in a lot of ways.” []
And the actual monetary price that is associated with that normalized extreme weather is getting steeper and steeper.
With a recent report from Oxera finding that extreme weather has cost the global economy more than $2 trillion over the past decade alone. []
And the US has taken the worst hit out of that - with more than $934 billion in economic losses. []
That’s nearly half of the total number and the next closest is China with upwards of $260 billion in losses.
With the statement released alongside that report saying,
“The data from the past decade shows definitively that climate change is not a future problem: major productivity losses from extreme weather events are being felt in the here and now by the real economy."z []
But the numbers and words aren’t going to fix the problem so we’re going to have to see what gets done with this information.
As well as keep our eyes on New Jersey and New York in the coming days.
But let me know your thoughts about this in those comments down below.
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Trump makes first key appointments, including Elise Stefanik as U.S. Ambassador to U.N., raising concerns about House GOP margins and Trump’s ability to raid loyalists in Congress
Donald Trump is already making key appointments for his administration.
Starting with the announcement making front page news this morning that Trump has officially tapped Rep. Elise Stefanik as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
With Stefanik’s office confirming that she has accepted the post.
And it’s no surprise that Stefanik is one of his first appointments given the fact that she has become one of his fiercest allies in the House.
Right, despite initially being elected in 2015 as a moderate in a then-competitive district in Upstate New York, Stefanik has turned into one of Trump’s fiercest defenders and strongest allies in the House.
She was a loud opponent of Trump’s impeachment in 2019 and helped promote the Big Lie after the 2020 election.
And while those positions have allowed her to rise through the ranks of Republican leadership, as The New York Times notes, Stefanik “has minimal experience in foreign policy and national security.”
So as far as why she was selected for this foreign policy position, it appears to stem from the fact that she has recently made herself known as a very outspoken supporter of Israel.
Attracting widespread national attention for her questioning of university presidents about antisemitism on their campuses in closely watched hearings that prompted several resignations.
And, very notably here, more recently she has repeatedly been calling for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to be defunded.
With her alleging that it has been infiltrated by Hamas.
But beyond all that, her appointment is also super significant because she is the first Trump ally from the House to be poached for a position in the administration — and it’s unclear how many more get that opportunity.
Because any time Trump wants to raid the House for loyalists to install in his cabinet, that will create vacancies that might be problematic for Republicans in the lower chamber.
Right, while Republicans are on track to keep their majority in the House, they are expected to do so with a razor-thin majority — similar to what they have now.
But that tiny majority has made it exceptionally difficult for leadership to control the divided party, which will be expected to make big legislative moves once it captures the trifecta.
So any vacancies that narrow that majority any more could present serious challenges — even if they are temporary.
And if Trump taps loyalists in competitive districts, there is also always a chance that Dems could flip the seat.
Now, as far as Stefanik, specifically, her seat is considered to be fairly safe for Republicans.
And once she vacates her seat, the governor of New York will have just 10 days to proclaim a special election, which is required to take place between 70 and 80 days after that proclamation.
But you still have some Trump loyalists raising concerns, including Elon Musk, who tweeted:
“Elise is awesome, but it might be too dicey to lose her from the House, at least for now” []
But beyond Stefanik, we’ve also seen Trump making two other appointments so far.
Yesterday, he announced that he had named Tom Homan to be his border czar.
Right, Homan, who has decades of experience, previously held a senior immigration role in the last Trump administration.
Serving as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 2017 to June 2018.
And in that capacity, he very notably helped design Trump’s controversial and short-lived family separation policy that removed more than 5,500 immigrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018.
What’s more, since leaving the administration, Homan also joined the Heritage Foundation as a visiting fellow and contributed to Project 2025.
So, as a result, his appointment raises questions about Trump’s attempts to distance himself from that effort.
Now, as far as what Homan’s responsibilities will be in this new role, that is not entirely clear.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the border czar will take charge of “the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security” as well as “all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.”[]
But it’s unclear exactly how that will work because, as NPR notes:
“managing immigration requires coordination between several agencies under the Department of Homeland Security.”
What’s more, despite the fact that Trump made sweeping crackdowns on immigration a key foundation of his campaign, he has failed to provide really any details of how that will happen or how he plans to deport millions of immigrants.
A promise that he ALSO failed to follow through on during his last administration due to a lack of resources, legal challenges, and public outcry.
And while it remains a mystery how Trump thinks he’s going to overcome those issues this time around, one thing that does seem certain is that the administration will be resuming large-scale workplace raids intended to arrest unauthorized workers.
Right, that policy was paused under the Biden administration, but Homan has already been saying he will revive it.
And these are policies that we could see enacted immediately after Trump takes office, especially because the border czar is a position that does not require confirmation from the Senate, so Homan will basically assume the role as soon as Trump is sworn in.
And on the note of administration officials that don’t have to be sworn in, the third and final appointment Trump has announced — at least, as of recording — is his chief of staff.
With Trump filling that position with Susie Wiles, the veteran Florida strategist who served as the co-chair for his campaign and who has been credited with running the campaign operation that successfully delivered Trump massive electoral wins.
And her selection is notable for a few reasons — first of all, it actually marks the first time in history that a woman has served as chief of staff.
And second, it shows that Trump is filling this top slot with someone in his inner circle who knows him and his family well, rather than a more institutional Republican figure.
But because of her insider position, the big question now is whether she will be more effective at buffering Trump or if she will just let herself get steamrolled and go along with everything he says.
So for now, we’ll have to wait and see what happens there, as well as what other key appointments we get from Trump before he assumes office.
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50,000 Russian and North Korean troops massing in western Russia ahead of expected counteroffensive into Kursk region, Ukraine launches biggest drone attack yet on Moscow
In international news, 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops are reportedly getting ready to launch a massive counteroffensive to reclaim territory seized by Ukraine.
Right, Ukraine captured hundreds of square miles of Russia’ Kursk region in a surprise assault in early August.
Since then, Russia has been slowly chipping away at those gains — taking back roughly half the seized territory.
But notably, that’s been without launching a major ground assault.
Right, instead, they’ve mostly been attacking Ukrainian positions with missile strikes and artillery fire.
And one reason for that is that they’ve been struggling with manpower.
Right, which Putin has tried to deal with by doing everything from releasing and enlisting prisoners, just showering cash on new recruits, and of course, getting a little help from Kim Jong Un.
And with that, a new US assessment has concluded that Russia has assembled this latest force without having to pull soldiers out of Ukraine’s east, which is really its main battlefield priority.
And as far as how much the help from North Korea’s been a difference maker?
Well, the country has reportedly sent more than 10,000 of its own troops to fight in Kursk.
They’re reportedly wearing Russian uniforms but they will probably fight in their own units.
And notably, according to American officials, the training North Korean troops have been receiving suggests that at least some will be directly involved in frontal assaults on Ukraine’s dug-in defensive positions.
And on one hand, we don’t know yet how effective they will be, considering their lack of combat experience.
But at the same time, these North Korea troops are reportedly considered the country’s best, with them coming from the “11th Corps” – which is home to the country’s special operations soldiers.
Also, at the end of the day, it is also a numbers game.
With Rob Lee, a Russian military specialist at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, telling the New York Times:
“Thousands of additional infantry can make a difference in Kursk.”
And adding: “These soldiers are younger and in better physical shape than many Russian contract soldiers.”
And with that, there may even be more on the way.
In fact, Ukrainian intelligence officials have- reportedly predicted that North Korea could send as many as 100,000 troops.
With another expert saying:
“It is likely not going to be a one-time shipment of 10,000 soldiers.”
“It is more likely going to be a way to regularly pull in thousands, perhaps up to 15,000 men a month.”
Now, all that said, if there’s one thing we know, it’s that Ukraine has again and again been able to defy expectations.
And with that, it’s not gonna be easy for Russia.
Right, Russian and North Korean forces are expected to take heavy losses in any frontal assault.
I mean, just right now, for example, American and British analysts put the current number of Russian troop deaths and injuries at an average of more than 1,200 a day.
And that’s also while Ukraine has been launching attacks deep inside Russia, with its domestic-made drones.
This weekend, launching its biggest drone attack yet on Moscow.
Which reportedly injured one person and forced three airports to temporarily stop operating.
But of course, all that doesn’t change Russia’s firepower advantage, with it launching a record-number of drone strikes this weekend as well.
And then, like we talked about last week, underpinning all of this is the fact that Donald Trump just won the presidency.
And speaking of Trump, he reportedly spoke with Putin last week and told him not to escalate in Ukraine.
With the Kremlin denying that such a call ever took place.
And then, on top of that, Biden is expected to push Trump to keep supporting Ukraine when they meet in the Oval Office this week.
So, there’s still a lot up in the air.
And everything that’s happening on the ground now in Ukraine and Russia, experts and officials are saying it will shape 'starting positions' for any talks that take place after Trump takes over.
Right, so the next few months, they could really matter for how this war ultimately ends.
